Sod treater



J. PICK SOD TREATER Filed Aug. 20, 1934 Y Snnentor Bg JOSeph Pick` Gttorneg Patented Nv. 12, v1935-.

PATENT OFI-Ica son 'rmaa'l'ltitV Joseph Pioli, Carter fieke, Iowa f `applies-tion Augustzo, 1934, serial Nqfuomo acabas. (Ctrl-51) This invention relates to the .art of' gardening and more particularly to a' tool forvitiating Vor improving the condition of the sod 'of lawns adjacent dwellings, golf greens and the like.`

It is an object' of the invention toV provide a tool for aerating the root stratum of sod grasses while simultaneously depositing humus material for use in conjunction with water of imbibition or substantially; the maximum amount of water which saidv stratum can absorb and hold to nitrify and perform nutritive junctions by causing the grass roots "to assimilate or take in .and utilize food substances for promoting growth 'of healthy.x

- Substantially as heretofore practiced in-the art lawn mowers or the like utilized to shorten the height of deposit a-certain' amount of humus material uponthe top of the soil whichreq uires an appreciable length of time to decompose and a major portion of said substance fails to reach therootsof the grasses or sod in an ad .vantageous manner and the invention also con- Y templates the provision of a tool particularly well adapted for forcing. humus material into the sod andzdepositing3 same adjacent the roots thereof in a manner whereby it willmore readily decompose and its valuable chemical elements beplaced closely ladjacentftheV absorbing roots of'grass. Also as heretofore practiced in the art upon `applyingQwater to lawn-sod, the water has partially evaporated with attendant waste thereof -or ows from` higher portions of the lawn andv "concentrates on low portions thereof, whereby the latter receives a surplusand unnecessary amount of waterand the former receives an inadequate or lack of supply thereof, and it is' an object of the invention to providemeans for facilitating the lforming of recesses in the sod for catching and 'detaining water upon all portions of the lawn for `the accomplishment of.. the above mentioned .objects while the water-simultaneously carries humus material-to' the roots of the grasses for a nutriflcation andan vadvanced degree of vitiation thereof;r Y Other and further advantagesof the invention will be' obvious from the following detailed dev-scription. f Y j 4In thep'ractice of the method, among other elements, a tool particularly described herein may vbe advantageously employed, said tool being il `lustrated `inthe accompanying drawing in which: Figure 1 isa vertical view 'partly in'section of the-tool :and showing its application to sod, the view being takemon the line I--I'of Figure 22 LFiggix'e 2f is a bottom plan view of the new tool,

3 is a view on an enlargemntd scale 'showing partly in .elevation and partly in section a fragment thereof.

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic illustration showing the manner in which the tool forces downwardly 5 into recesses provided nby the use of the newv tool va mass of sufficient weight in conjunction with th'latermentioned parts for forcing parts thereof into the ground without undue manual muscu- 15 lar exertion, said mass or plate being preferably rectangular` in plan as shown in Figure 2 and provided withloutwardly extending members il which are integral therewith.

A plurality of the members II are employed 2o and preferably 36 thereof aligned and arranged in a plurality of rows preferably equi-distantly spaced from each other, as shown in Figure 2. As best shown in Figure 3, the members H are v.each of elongated substantially truncated. conical 25 shape, the frustrums 'thereof preferably terminating in arcuately shaped ends Il', said membersV being preferably circular in cross section and tapering in contour from their bases outwardly to their ends for purposes later described. The so bases-of the cones are joined to a common surface of .the plate and extend outwardly theren from at aright angle. The surface I2 of the massmember or plate I0, disposed opposite to the conical-members I I, is formed at for purposes later 35 mentioned. Y

Centrally positioned withrespectto the members Il,'the plate I0 is provided with an integral boss I3 of cruci-form yin plan, the medial'portion thereof being provided with a recess of hexagonal 4o shape for receiving therein and holding thereby against rotation the similarly shaped head Irl of anelongated cap screw I5, the threaded shank of the latter removably locking therewithan opf erati'ng handle I6 and in cooperation with later 45 described elements maintaining said handle disposed at a `iarue right angle with respect to said surface I2 of the plate or frame.

The handle I6 may be of any adequate length and preferably extends to or slightly above the so average height of an adults shoulder at times when the tool is positioned upon the ground, the uter surface of said handle being provided'with an adequate degree of smoothness for facilitat- I ing operation in thehands of an operator las later as f of the`handle"|l with respect to the mass.

Q5 In operation the'new tool is lifted above the 60 countered the operator described and provided with a bore extending its entirelength.

A threaded nut lliswelded as at. I'I'- to one 'end of the handle it and in effect for some `pur- -5 poses provides a continuation thereof, 4its threaded opening being disposed in axial alignment with the bore `I8 of the handle.A A vibration dampen- 'l ing member il is positioned between the nut Il 'and the surface i2 of the mass and provided with l a bore 20 and. also disposed in'axial alignment with the bore I3 of the handle.' said bore 2l being of slightly greater diameterl than the shank of 'the cap screw I5 within which the latter is snugly received.

15 l 'I'he member Ilias best shown is provided with outwardly and downwardly'extending equi-distantly spacedl abutments 2L preferably four thereof being employed, each being provided with a fiat surface 22`adapted to v 20 firmly engage against the surface I2 .of the mass fiand it will be understood thatwhen the parts are assembled, as shown in Figure l, the Aabutments `2i are placed in register above the arms of the cruel-form lug I3 ofthe mass or disc I0. ,v

25 'Ihe disc Il is provided-with an aperture 23 centrally with respect to said recess I4 whereby -an operator may positionthe cap screw Il through said aperture and cause the mass to become removably and operatively engaged with 30 the other parts of the foregoing mentioned instrumentality by causing an engagement between the interior annular thread of the nut I1 and the threads 2l ofthe bolt or-cap-screw II by rotating the one upon the other and inorder to l 35. insure a rni contact between the abutments 2|vv and the surface I2 of the'mass a wrench is applied to the nut vi'l 'wherebywhen the separable are ilrmly engaged, as thus described, the abutments 2| will function to dampen vibration i0 incident tothe use of the tool as later described J and maintain the handle II at'a right angle lwith respectto thesaid surface I! atall times.

.The mass Il together with all ofthe heretofore described members are preferably formed of iron 45 for the 'purpose of providing an adequate amount of weight, .strength andk rigidity` and it will be noted that the cap screw Il is sumciently long to providea portion thereoflreceived in an adequate length of the bore Il of the handle." after pass- 5(1) ing through the nut I1 whereby the portion received in saidbore will bear snugly lainst the annular wall `thereof for cooperation'with said abutments for preventing7 movements ground and caused to plunge downward by releasing the same, whereby the handle II will slide l through the hands of the operator or in instances where hardened 'conditions of the soil are en- `70 with their rounded terminal-ends that said membersmayberadilyforcedlntothegroundduring which humus material will be caused to entertheintersticesorrecessessuchastheblade `of grass 20 1I therein, or fragments of crushed grass or grass may manually applyv being bent or carried dmvnvfrar'dly'- the opposite side thereof, respective abutments l0y 2| being placed directly in contact with the terminal ends of'oppositely disposed arms of the cruel-form boss whereupon the device then may be used, functioning as a"ta mper for further treatment of thesod. When so assembled, as last described, the member I9 also functions to space the nut I'labove the cones II whereby a wrench may be readily applied to said nut for connecting the parts together. f

It should be noted that, during the operation of said tool for forming Irecesses in the sod for 'purposes such as mentioned, in raising the tool i'romA its ground engagingfposition it should be raised vertically whereby the uproot'ing of Ithe sod will be, obviated such as would be occasioned should the tool be tipped and raised in an inclined position with respect to a vertical plane thereby causing the members il to tear the sod and the rigid y construction and interfitting of the parts as described insures that the same may be consum'ated by preventing swaying movements of the handle with respect to the mass.

'I'he tool may also be used forfscarifying bare surfaces of ground preparatory to planting grass seed and when used for said purpose the intcrstices'or recesses'i are formed slight' in depth by substantially lowering the tool yupon ground Ifor providing slight depressions thereinv for detainingv grass seed which otherwisea would become washed or blown into low surfaces of the 40 area treated to the exclusion of the higher surfaces `thereof and by this means an even application of grass seed may be provided. i

For-the purpose of watering trees thehandle Il, together with its fixed nut I1 is removed and a 45 ,nipple employed for coupling the hose to the nut 'for supplying water under pressure within and through the bore Il whereupon the open end 2l of the handle il may be' inserted into the ground adjacenttree or shrub roots, the pressure of the 5 water providing a substantially self-sinking lance -without the employment of muscularl eort other4 than to guide the lance whereby water is supplied to deep growing roots of shrubs and the like. `In the practice of the method the above particularly described tool is of advantage especially during drouth periods when the4 surface of the ground, .or grass structure is hardened incidentv totheex-posurethereoftothesunsraysandan 6 attendant evaporation of moisture.

Preferably the lawn-sod surface to be treated is iirst provided with an application ofl water spre thereover1 for softening .the same althoug this step maybe omitted in accordance f5 with the condition of the sod, incident to drouth. -The tool is applied to the sod,'the loperator grasping .the handle and reciprocating the tool vertically whereby during down strokes thereof thecones Il arecausedtoeluragedeeplyinthe sodvfor providing recesses of asubstantial con- ,tour and shape of the cones and of a depth substantially. equal to the maior portion of their length, whereby grass clippings or humus matsrialiscarriedintosaidrecessesandalso.-as

lthe

illustrated in Figure 4, blades 'or grass are bent downwardly into or portions thereof forced into v said interstices, this step of the operation being repeated over other parts of the area until the -whole area to be treated is provided with said recesses and said material deposited therein for a subsequent reception of and cooperation with the water of imbiition.

, The next step is to provide the said area with water which may be consummated by any suitable means such as the employment of a hose connected to a suitable source of water Supply and it will be understood that the water upon iilling the said interstices will not onLv provide the roots with necessary water 4but will also cause a certain amount of sediment comprised of soll and waterl to be washed into the said recesses `and form a deposit commingled with or covering said comminuted humous material whereby the latter readily becomes decomposed and provides humus.

While the ground is still soit from the application of water the cone carrying surface oi the new tool may be reversed with respect to the handle thereof for providing a ilat surface whereby `said area may. by tamping, partially close said in humus material, comprising a plate, a plurality of elongated spaced apart conical membersl joined at 'their bases to one surface of the plate, each member extending'outwardly therefromV at. a, right-angle, a long hollow operating handle having a iixed nut on its lower end, a bolt reaoadcvi movably extending through the plate in a direction opposite to the members and having a threaded upper end engaging through said nut for connecting the handle to the plate, said handle also having a plurality of radiating abutments 5 on its lower end for engagement with the plate to hold the handle firmly thereto and for positioning between the conical members when the plate is reversed.

2. A sod treating tool comprising a plate hav- 1o ing a plurality oi long conical projections thereon spaced apart at one side of the plate andsaid plate having a central opening therethrough, a

l hollow handle having a threaded nut on its lower end and provided with radial abutments belowthe threaded nut, and a bolt detachably engaged through the opening in the plate with its head engaging one side of, the plate and havingl a threaded portion engaging through said nut and into the handle for detachably anchoring the handle to the plate, said abutments adapted to engage the' plate to rigidly hold the same on the headed end ofthe bolt.

3. A sod treating tool, comprising a plate hav-v ing at one side a plurality of spaced long tapering projections adapted to enter the ground and provided at its central portion with an opening -through the plate and with a bearing boss about said openings with projections extending between the adjacent tapering projections of the plate, a handle havingv an internally threaded nut on its lower end and provided with a plurality of radiating abutments below the nut, and a removable boltextending through the opening in the plate and having a threaded end-e in said nut to bind the handle to the plate. and' engage the abutments against the adjacentaside of the plate, said abutments adaptcd to seat on said projections of the boss when the plate is assembled in reversed position on the bolt and handle. Y

4o JOSEPH PICK. 'v 

